Zombie Movie Creator George A. Romero Dies At 77

Zombie Movie Creator George A. Romero Dies At 77

by ogugua | 17th July 2017

George A. Romero.

American-Canadian filmmaker, George A. Romero, creator of the zombie film genre with “Night of the Living Dead” has died from lung cancer in a Toronto hospital on Sunday, his business partner, Peter Grunwald said. He was 77.

Romero, who was born in the Bronx borough of New York, was drawn to telling stories about monsters.

His first feature-length movie, “Night of the Living Dead” was his big break and it was made on a $114,000 budget. The movie, snubbed by the mainstream press, became a smash hit among horror aficionados and gore lovers.

He worked on several other projects to little box office success before the first “Living Dead” sequel, “Dawn of the Dead,” debuted in 1979 to great fanfare and critical acclaim. An initial backlash to some graphic special effects helped boost the film’s notoriety, drawing more to theaters.

Romero continued his work in the horror genre throughout the 1980s. In 1990, he rewrote the original “Living Dead” screenplay for the franchise’s first remake. That was followed by “Land of the Dead” in 2005.

In 2006 Romero made “Diary of the Dead,” launching a new cycle of “Living Dead” zombie flicks, which also includes 2009’s “Survival of the Dead.”

His most recent project was a a graphic novel entitled “Empire of the Dead,” which was published by Marvel.

Romero influenced a generation of filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez and the late Wes Craven, according to Grunwald.